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Reference Number:

2018-039

Release Date:

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Starting March 2018, the PSA will release the rebased CPI series as announced in the press release number 2018-031 dated 22 February 2018. Data users can expect two sets of the CPI as the new series shall be issued simultaneously with the 2006-based series until June 2018. The CPI series for July 2018 onwards shall be 2012-based.

YEAR-ON-YEAR

Philippines

The country’s year-on-year headline inflation rate picked up by 3.9 percent in February 2018, higher than the 3.4 percent growth in January 2018 and 3.1 percent during the same period a year ago. Inflation during the month was the highest since September 2014.

The uptrend resulted from the faster annual gain recorded in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 4.8 percent and the double-digit annual increment in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index at 16.9 percent. Moreover, higher annual increases were also noted in the indices of the following commodity groups:

Clothing and Footwear (2.0%);

Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House (2.5%);

Transport (5.8%); and

Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (2.5%)

Lower annual hikes were, however, noticed in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 2.6 percent; communication, 0.2 percent; and recreation and culture, 1.4 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s rate (see Tables 6 and 8).

A faster annual mark-up of 4.8 percent in February was, likewise, observed in the food alone index at the national level. It was pegged at 4.6 percent in the previous month and 3.2 percent in February 2017 (see Table 13).

Higher annual rates were posted in the indices of the following food groups:

Those for the rest of the food groups either slowed down or remained at their previous month’s rate with sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery index recording an annual decline of 1.6 percent (see Table 10).

Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in the Philippines, All Items
January 2013 - February 2018
(2012=100)

Month

Year

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Jan

2.7

3.8

1.5

0.7

2.5

3.4

Feb

2.9

3.6

1.5

0.5

3.1

3.9

Mar

2.8

3.4

1.5

0.6

3.1

Apr

2.1

3.7

1.4

0.7

3.2

May

2.3

4.0

0.9

0.9

2.9

Jun

2.5

3.8

0.6

1.3

2.5

Jul

2.5

4.2

0.2

1.3

2.4

Aug

1.8

4.2

0.0

1.3

2.7

Sep

2.3

3.9

-0.4

1.7

3.1

Oct

2.4

3.7

-0.2

1.8

3.1

Nov

2.9

3.0

0.3

2.1

3.0

Dec

3.8

1.9

0.7

2.2

2.9

Ave

2.6

3.6

0.7

1.3

2.9

National Capital Region (NCR)

In NCR, annual inflation was recorded at 4.7 percent in February 2018. It was the same rate posted in the previous month, while in February 2017, inflation settled at 3.4 percent. Higher annual uptick was observed in food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 6.6 percent. In addition, double-digit annual mark-up in alcoholic beverages and tobacco index at 21.2 percent was also registered during the month. Higher annual gains were also noticed in the indices of furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house at 2.3 percent; recreation and culture, 1.1 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.2 percent.

The rest of the commodity groups either moved up at a slower pace or retained their previous month’s rate (see Tables 6 and 8).

Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)

Following the same trend at the national level, inflation in AONCR accelerated by 3.7 percent in February 2018. In the previous month, it was observed at 3.1 percent and in February 2017, 3.0 percent. The indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages further expanded to 4.5 percent and alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 16.0 percent. Moreover, faster annual gains were seen in the indices of the following commodity groups:

Clothing and Footwear (1.9%);

Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House (2.5%);

Health (2.1%);

Transport (5.4%)

Education (2.6%); and

Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (2.3%).

Annual adjustments in the rest of the commodity groups were slower with the index of communication retaining its previous month’s rate of 0.2 percent (see Tables 6 and 8).

Except Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) and Region XI (Davao Region), all regions recorded higher inflation during the month. The highest annual rate of 6.0 percent remained in Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) while the lowest was still noted in Region III (Central Luzon) at 2.2 percent (see Table 8).

MONTH-ON-MONTH

The country’s consumer prices moved up at a slower pace of 0.8 percent during the month. In January, the rate was posted at 0.9 percent. Lower monthly increments were seen in the indices of the following commodity groups:

Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (0.5%);

Alcoholic Beverages (5.3%);

Clothing and Footwear (0.3%); and

Health (0.3%).

The other commodity either registered higher mark-ups or retained their previous month’s rate (see Tables 5 and 7).

Food items particularly vegetables and fish generally declined during the month. Lower monthly price increases were also recorded in corn and fruits. Upward price adjustments were, likewise, slower in alcoholic beverages and cigarettes during the period.

Meanwhile, higher charges in electricity rates were observed in NCR and in many provinces. Prices of kerosene, LPG, gasoline and diesel also went up this month. Air transport fares also moved upward in many provinces.

Notes:

Price movements of the commodities from the sample municipalities of Lanao del Sur were used to impute the prices for Marawi City for February 2018.

Accompanying this report are the summary tables showing the inflation rates for the 2006-based CPI series.

CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are also available upon request at Price Statistics Division (Telephone Number: 376-19-59).